A vigil intermingling parishioners of various faiths will take place Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church of Norwood Parish in Chevy Chase as a tribute to those affected by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, according to organizers.
“We believe that it’s almost impossible not to be affected by everything we’re seeing going on,” said the Rev. Anne Derse, deacon and minister for community engagement at the church at 6701 Wisconsin Ave. “We need to have space to restore ourselves–our souls, our stamina and our courage–to do that very hard work of peacebuilding.”
The Multifaith Vigil for Peace and Humanity will be open to the public. It will involve faith leaders and music from Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh and Jain traditions, according to a church press release. A YouTube livestream will also allow community members to join the event virtually.
The vigil’s objective is to offer “an opportunity for the community to come together in reflection and prayers for peace in the Holy Land,” the release said. The event also continues fundraising efforts by St. John’s Holy Land Committee, which benefits organizations in Israel and Gaza such as Doctors Without Borders, World Central Kitchen and the Binational School for Psychotherapy.
Derse said the church is planning for around 150 attendees.
“We believe that as people of faith and humanity, we have a role to play in holding out the vision of what we believe is God’s intention for the world–God by whatever name your religion calls it,” she said. “God’s intention for the world is peace and shalom, by which we mean abundant thriving and dignity and justice for all humanity.”
Also participating in the vigil is Aman Shergill, a local volunteer in the Sikh community. She is a commissioner on the Governor’s Commission on South Asian American Affairs and sits on the boards of the Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington and the Montgomery County-based Communities United Against Hate.
A native of the United Kingdom, she moved to Montgomery County in 2015.
“My name in Punjabi actually translates to peaceful, or peace, or peaceful one,” said Shergill, a native of the United Kingdom who moved to Montgomery County in 2015. “People tell me that I am true to my name because I try to keep peace in the communities that I have lived in around the globe.”
When Derse called Shergill inviting her to the vigil, Shergill said the answer was clear.
“It was a no-brainer for me because for me personally, the way I look at the bigger picture is always being humanity before religion,” she said. It’s doing the right thing not just by our own families, our extended families … our neighbors, our work colleagues–even strangers that we meet.”
Derse said the purpose of the vigil is not to lecture, patronize or resolve all differences, but rather to be educational and listening will be necessary on both sides. But she said there remains an opportunity to make a difference.
“The vigil that we’re holding is not a political event,” she said. “We are not offering sermons, reflections, homilies, or statements–what we’re trying to do is to create a space of spiritual peace, calm and beauty to remind ourselves that all faiths call for peace for humanity.”
Shergill stressed that all ages are welcome at the vigil.
“There’s a team that will be doing the prayer at the vigil on behalf of the Sikh community and then there’s a young student who will be reciting a prayer-slash-poem,” she said. “I wanted to make sure that the youth voice is also heard–it’s really important to have the young ones involved and empower them in social justice.”
While Shergill places shared humanity before faith, she said her Sikh background guides her throughout her pursuits.
“I look at everyone as a child of God–especially in the Sikh faith, we believe there is an internal light in each individual regardless of which religion or faith–or no faith–that they are born into.”
Derse, a member of the Faith Community Advisory Group of Montgomery County, said the church has held prior vigils for COVID-19 victims and another for victims of gun violence.
She said her well-wishes for those affected by recent violence are ubiquitous and disregard individual nationality or faith.
“As Episcopal Archbishop of Jerusalem Hosam Naoum also says, when we pray for peace and the people of the Holy Land, we pray for the whole of the Holy Land,” she said. “Israeli and Palestinian, Muslims, Christians, Jews and everyone who [lives] there–never dividing them in our hearts or by our actions.”
According to Derse, vigil attendees can participate in peace prayers led by faith leaders, musical interludes and the opportunity to light candles and say private prayers.
The vigil will be held in the nave of St. John’s and a reception in Parish Hall will follow.
